Reading the Flame: What "Plus," "Premium Plus" and AAA Mean on a Used Les Paul

Short answer: on a Gibson Les Paul, "Plus," "Premium Plus," "AA" and "AAA" are all ways of saying how much figure is in the maple top. They are a visual grade, judged by eye at the factory. They say nothing about tone, weight or how well the guitar was built, and there's no industry-wide standard behind the letters. On the used market, pay for the top you can see in good photos, not for the words in the listing. And watch for the cheaper guitars that use the same words to describe a thin veneer.

Where the words came from

By the early '90s Gibson was selling figured-top versions of its Les Pauls under two names. On the Les Paul Classic, for example, collectors generally describe the Classic Plus as the AA-grade flame top and the Classic Premium Plus as the AAA grade, the most heavily figured with flame running to the edges. The Standard had the same split: Standard Plus and Standard Premium Plus. The Premium Plus Classic ran from about 1993 to 1997 and came back from 1999 to 2001, according to the Les Paul Forum's history of the model.

The names kept turning up after that. The mid-2000s Les Paul Studio Premium Plus put a highly figured top on the no-binding Studio body. Reverb's model guide lists it from 2006 to 2008, and it was promoted with a AAA top. Later, Gibson moved to plainer wording. The current Les Paul Standard '50s "Figured Top" is listed on Gibson's own spec sheet as AA figured maple. Some dealer and limited runs have been sold as AAA or even AAAA.

Two things to keep in mind:

• The grade is subjective. Even the Les Paul Forum's write-up on the Classic Premium Plus calls the line between Plus and Premium Plus "somewhat subjective." A strong Plus top and a weak Premium Plus top can look nearly the same.
• The letters aren't shared between brands. Gibson's AAA, PRS's 10-Top and a dealer's "AAAAA" are each that seller's own opinion of a piece of wood. We covered the PRS side of this in what makes a PRS 10-Top a 10-Top.

What a grade does and doesn't tell you

A grade tells you how strong the flame is, how evenly it runs, and how far it reaches toward the edges. That's it. There's no good evidence that a flamed cap sounds different from a plain one of the same thickness and weight (more on that in does the maple top on a Les Paul change the tone?). It doesn't tell you about weight either. From my bench scale: the 2007 Studio Premium Plus above came in at 7.32 lb and a 2006 one at 6.61 lb. A 2001 Standard Plus weighed about 9.8 lb, and the 2023 Standard '50s we have now is 9.38 lb. The weight comes from the mahogany and from whether and how the body is relieved, not from the grade on the top.

The "Plus Top" trap on import guitars

This is where buyers get caught. On a USA Gibson Les Paul, the figured maple is a carved cap, so the flame shifts and moves as the carve curves. On many import guitars, "Plus Top" means something else.

Guitar World's review of the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro describes its top as a AAA flame maple veneer. Fender's Player Stratocaster HSS Plus Top also uses a flame maple veneer, as dealer listings for it state. Neither is a bad guitar. But AAA on a thin decorative layer and AAA on a carved solid cap are different things, and shouldn't be priced the same way.

Then there's the word "Plus" by itself, which doesn't always mean a top grade at all. A 2015 Les Paul Less+ is a thinner-bodied model, named for the body rather than the top. Fender's Player Plus is a model line, and many of them have no figured top at all. Read the whole model name before paying a figured-top premium. Our figured maple vs. veneer guide covers how to spot a veneer or photo top.

How to tell what you're looking at

Check the cavities and the paperwork

Longtime Gibson owners on the Les Paul Forum and Gibson's own forum report that '90s and 2000s Premium Plus guitars were marked "LPPP" in pencil or a stamp in a pickup cavity, and Standard Plus guitars "LPP." From around 2013, owners describe a full model code written in the cavity instead, with a letter in it that marks a premium top. I haven't seen documentation from Gibson itself on this, so treat a cavity marking as good supporting evidence, not proof. Original case candy and a hang tag with the model name are worth asking about too.

Look at the carve under changing light

On a solid cap, the flame follows the carve and "rolls" as you tilt the guitar. The seller of the 2023 Standard '50s we have in stock put it well in the listing: the flame "changes dramatically as you move the guitar around," and he thought it looked better in person than in the photos. That's typical of a real figured cap, so ask for a short video or photos from a few angles.

Judge the top, not the label

Look for flame that runs to the binding rather than fading into bald patches near the edges. Check whether both halves of the bookmatch are equally strong. Look at how deep and three-dimensional the figure looks under the finish. By the same token, a guitar sold as a plain Plus can have a better top than a Premium Plus. The seller of a 2001 Standard Plus that came through here said its flame was "far nicer than what you'd expect from most Plus tops of the era," and I'd agree that happens more often than people think.

Is a higher grade worth more used?

Here's my take. A striking top absolutely helps a Les Paul sell. People buy these guitars with their eyes first, and a great flame top is part of what they're buying. But in my experience the market pays for the top it can see, not for the grade letter in the title. A spectacular Plus will usually outsell a so-so Premium Plus. And a grade doesn't make up for problems: a repaired headstock, worn frets or swapped parts matter far more to the price than one extra A.

If the flame is what you love, buy the top you love and treat the labels as a starting point. If you mostly care how it plays and sounds, a plainer top can save you real money on the same build.

If you want to see a figured top in person, the 2023 Les Paul Standard '50s in Honey Amber is in stock now, along with the rest of our guitars in stock. Selling a Plus or Premium Plus? Good photos of the top, the cavity markings and the case candy go a long way, whether you sell it yourself or take our cash offer.

FAQ

What does "Premium Plus" mean on a Gibson Les Paul?

It was Gibson's name for its most heavily figured maple tops, generally described as AAA, above the "Plus" (AA) grade. It's a visual grade of the flame, not a different build.

Does a AAA flame top sound better than a plain top?

There's no good evidence it does. Tone differences between two Les Pauls come from pickups, setup, the mahogany and the neck, not the grade of the top.

How can I tell if my Les Paul is a Premium Plus?

Owners report "LPPP" marked in a pickup cavity on '90s and 2000s Premium Plus guitars, and "LPP" on Standard Plus. Original paperwork helps too. Because grading was subjective, a marking is better evidence than looks alone.

Is an Epiphone or Fender "Plus Top" the same as a Gibson Plus?

No. On the Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop Pro and the Fender Player Plus Top Strat, the flame is a thin maple veneer. A USA Gibson Plus or Premium Plus has a carved solid maple cap.